Community Guy – Jake McKee

Where's Jake?

Have you been wondering where I disappeared to the last few days? I bought an iPhone. What do I think, you ask?

Can’t. Talk. Must. Use. More. iPhone.

More on this later. I’m still focused on ensuring the drool doesn’t connect with the phone.

NikeID – where are the social functions?

When I was in college, I worked for a medical product design company designing, of all things, shoes. We were working on some top secret methods of using pumps that inflated when you walked. It was a very cool idea, dreamed up by the company owner.

As part of doing research, we went to the shoe store one day and bought at least 15 pairs of high end athletic shoes. When we got back to the shop, we fired up the band saw and cut each left shoe right down the middle. This was when the Nike Air was still relatively new, but about the time that most of the bigger brands were trying to promote their own version of some Air like quality. Out of at least 5 brands and 15 different models, only one of them delivered anything worthwhile – Nike. Their Air tech was exactly what they’d been marketing, whereas other brands barely lived up to the concept, much less the marketing promises.

Since then the only sneakers I’ve purchased have been Nike Air, and I’ve loved nearly every pair. My latest pair are the best yet – the Nike Air Max has the Air sole running from toe to heel and literally make me feel like I’m bouncing along my path. They’re absolutely amazing, but after a year of near daily wear, I popped a leak! That’s right, my right shoe has a flat.

Since I’m absolutely enthralled with the Air Max and need a replacement, I thought I’d give the NikeID system a try. It’s pretty slick, and I’m debating if I can wait the 22-30 days for a custom pair to show up. What do you think of my design?

While the Flash-based customization tool is fantastic, I found myself struggling a bit when I was designing. I was stuck for ideas, and although Nike provides four inspiration designs for you to start with, that wasn’t nearly enough. Where are the social functions??

The current product, like far too many mass customization applications is structured around the product itself, the choice of colors and options. But mass customization isn’t about the product, it’s about the experience. Certainly the product is part of the experience, but it’s only a part of the experience.

Here’s a few ideas for how Nike can make NikeID more social…

• Create a design gallery - this seems fairly obvious, but… don’t stop with the four hard coded design combinations. With as many customization options as there are in the tool (from laces to swoosh stictching to the text on the backside) there’s a HUGE number of combinations, and I want much more inspiration than four basic, conservative designs.
• Popularity sorting - With the gallery, allow me to sort by what’s most and least popular. Perhaps I want to create a cool shoe that is popular, or perhaps I want to go crazy and pick a design that I’m unlikely to see replicated. Of course, I have to know what other people are even buying to know whether I’m a unique genius or a sheep-like follower.
• People who liked this… – Why not take a page from Amazon’s book and show a selection of designs that meet similar design criteria as what you’ve currently designed? This would show you not only designs that are similar, but how popular these similar designs are (see point above).
• Ratings of each design – Pretty standard thumbs up/down functionality would allow people who don’t have nearly $200 to shell out could still participate in the project.
• Share my design – Surprisingly, there’s no way for me to share a design I’ve created with my friends. Why not create a simple function to pass along final designs with a bit of info about designing your own?
• Suggestions for the back text - In addition to color, you can also select up to 8 characters of text to be applied to the backside of the shoe (unique to each shoe). I was at a loss for something fun, but not cheesy. In fact, it’s what’s held up my purchase. I’d love to see what others have come up with as inspiration, or hell, just for casual reading.

Nothing exceptionally unique, but these days it’s the price of entry. Creating a great mass customization product is contingent on creating a great mass customization experience. As soon as I can figure out what text to put on the back of my shoes, and after a far too long 30 days, I’ll let you know how much I love my new shoes!

"Heroes" does character blogs right

You may recall my rant about character blogs done poorly. If you don’t the quick recap is that it’s hard to have an effective “character blog” (a blog created around a fictional character) when the blog has constant reminders that this character is completely fictional. TV show characters live in a world that’s not hosted on CBS.com, for instance.

Since that post I’ve been on the lookout for a great character blog and Web sites that I could share as an example of how to do it right. I found two great support efforts for this season’s hit show “Heroes”, and both focus on lesser discussed aspects of show.

Of the two, my significant favorite is the VotePetrelli.com site. This site literally could have been created for any candidate running for office this year. (Which is a sad reflection on Web sites for political candidates, but I digress)

Let’s see how this site stacks up against my Rules for Character Blogs & Sites:

1. Keep it right - this blog is certainly the exact right concept for a fictional political candidate.
2. Use what you have - this project is fun because it fits into the universe, but doesn’t focus on the more obvious elements of the show. This helps to extend the show “world” much further.
3. Make it real – although not as applicable on a non-blog site, it’s still interesting to see that the privacy policy says nothing about NBC and instead references only VotePetrelli.com. I actually emailed the webmaster with an in-character note to see what kind of response I’ll get back.
4. Connect the dots – I’m not sure if this has been advertised elsewhere. Anyone else seen anything about it? (I read about it in Wired)
5. Extend the illusion – the illusion on this one is pretty deep. Zero branding, zero reference to NBC, and absolute synchronization to the show’s on-screen character.

The second site focuses on the fictional Yamagato Fellowship but isn’t as tight. Sadly there’s far too many “coming soon” references in the content for this to be considered great, but it’s certainly a solid effort.

Great work, NBC!

LEGO: Seven Years Later

This time seven years ago, the LEGO Company was only just beginning to work on introducing themselves to their adult community, and were finally getting serious about the kids community.

In my five years at LEGO the situation on the ground went from having colleagues regularly decline to even meet with me, to having a Wired cover story about our work and seeing the company restructured to include three silos, one of which was community/education/direct. I left the company with a feeling of success, but still wondering if I’d actually had any affect. Had anything actually changed? I had put way too many hours, traveled thousands of miles, met hundreds of people, and had countless arguments with colleagues who simply didn’t "get it". Great interview, well worth the time.

Nearly a year later I had my answer. The current LEGO CEO, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, did an interview with new publication, Monocle where he talks about moving the company back to its roots and truly putting users at the front of the decision making process. Clearly this guy "gets it", and hopefully he can help change a culture that is not necessarily inclined to change quickly.

It might have taken seven years to get the company moving in the right direction, but it’s clearly headed there. I’m proud to have been a part of that success.

Favorite Social Project of 2006

The year 2006 was a great year for social media projects with many fantastic projects launching or coming into their own. One of my favorites was Fisk-A-Teers: Crafting Ambassadors, a social community (not social network, let’s be completely clear here) for crafters. The site was driven by the folks at the Fiskars, and built and supported by the amazing folks at Brains on Fire.

In short, this project was an invite-only (invites are based on introductions to existing members) social community for crafting enthusiasts, especially scrapbookers. From the site description:

For their efforts, Fiskars and Brains on Fire get the highly coveted, and incredibly unknown "Community Guy Best Social Project of 2006" award. Like I said, the competition this year was tough, lots of projects coming out. Here’s why Fisk-A-Teers got my attention:

Embracing the Risk
Fiskars took a "risk" by creating this community based around their product. Any time you generate a method for consumers to talk about you, it’s "risky". (I put "risk" in quotes because personally I don’t think of it as a risk in the same way that a marketing manager who has never worked with communities might)

Then there was the risky, yet apparently brilliant design move of making this community invitation only – you have get to know a community member in order to get an invitation. Too many marketing folks today are still trying to get the widest broadcast and pull in the largest group of people, but communities work much differently. Mass acceptance is often the death kneel.

For the love of the game
How often do you realize that the company you happen to be dealing with doesn’t really like themselves, their product, or their consumers. They’ve lost the love that brought them there in the first place. This project shows clearly that not only does Fiskars the company, but Fiskars the employees love what they’re doing enough to engage on a large scale. After checking out this project, I’m convinced that walking down the hall of corporate HQ, I’d actually hear stories of off-hours crafting.

Delivery of Business Objectives
One of the core goals of this project was to remind the world that this brand is 300 years old with a rich history in crafting, as well as an interest in crafters. Ask Spike for the numbers, but let’s just say that every goal the team set for themselves seemed laughably small a short time later.

We often forget that business objectives are indeed part of the reason a company actually interacts with their community/consumers. There’s nothing wrong with this, so long as it’s clear and everybody goes home happy.

Full-time Communiployees
That’s right, I’m making up words. To keep things flowing, interesting, and fun the team found four different yet complementary community members and allowed them to come work driving this community. Not only does this help ensure that the community stays interesting, it ensure it stays real. The role of "moderator" often takes on a highly tactical ("porn vs. not porn") task list, and is often fairly disconnected from the people actually in the community itself. Hiring community members to lead the community creates a level of aspiration for the rest of the community because four people just got "the dream job".

Creating the Spark
The hands-on, yet hands-off approach of giving crafters a place to be themselves generated far more ambassadors than any mass market campaign could have. The campaign may have seen a larger bump in immediate attention, but would it have excited a Fisk-A-Teer to get license plates that said "FSKATR 3"? Not a chance.

I could go on for days, and perhaps we can get Brains on Fire or Fiskars to do an interview to follow-up the prestigious, yet completely unknown award they’re receiving today!

Kudos Verizon

I’ve been waiting to be able to sign up for the Verizon FiOS service for some time. My friends have been teasing me about how fast their fiber optic internet connection is and how clear their fiber-based TV is. So you can imagine how happy I was when the construction was done in front of the house and the fiber was connected up to the house. I’ve been waiting for the last step of the install (the one I have to be home for) since before Christmas. To say that process hasn’t been that smooth is an overstatement. The Verizon contracts keep calling us and scheduling appointments, then call a few days later to tell us that our "requested time slot" isn’t available. We’re on three appointments like that. Each time I plan my work day around it, adjust my schedule, etc.

So I called Verizon’s customer support to complain and try to get  a firm date. Turns out that there was even more problems when the support folks pulled up the notes on my account.

When I called in, I immediately asked for a supervisor. Kristine, my initial contact, was sweet as pie and did her best to speed my call along. Her supervisor, Edna Cunningham from the Dallas office, was doubly sweet, calm, and apologetic. Not only did she issue me a $75 credit ($25 per missed visit), she helped me work through the issues of missed appointments.

Fantastic service! Now let’s hope that they actually show up on our scheduled appointment later this week.

UPDATE: For some reason this entry didn’t get published when I wrote it. The Verizon folks showed up on time, and the two repairmen were fantastic. Nice, quick, and helpful.

How’s the service? TV looks fantastic. The Internet is blazing fast. I can’t recommend it enough.

Great service! (x2)

In a world where delivering on customer expectations is surprising, and over delivering is unheard of, I am pleased to report two such over deliveries in a period of 48 hours.

Think Outside
I have a rockin cool Bluetooth keyboard for my Smartphone. It allows me to type nearly as fast as I do on my computer when connecting to my mail on a trip or in a waiting room. It has a cool little flip stand that holds the phone upright, laptop style. After much use and much travel, the flip stand cracked. While not the most expensive part of the product, it’s a bit more complex than a simple piece of injection molded plastic.

I emailed Think Outside, explained my problem and asked how much a replacement would be. After the standard auto-reply message, I got a reply from someone on their team within 8 hours saying they would forward my request. A few hours later I got a message saying they would send me a replacement in the mail, free of charge. (This was on a weekend, mind you) Two days later, I received not one stand, but two in the mail. Impressive.

Moen
A small plastic part on my bathroom faucet broke, and after a bit of a struggle on the Moen Web site, I found and ordered the correct replacement. I requested FedEx ground delivery and after three weeks it still hadn’t showed up. I tracked the package and discovered that the package had been delivered, but to an entirely different address. My address info was correct, but the FedEx driver decided to get creative. I called FedEx and they told me they would send the driver to pick up the package from the wrong address and then re-deliver. They also told me that I needed to submit a claim online in parallel. The next night I got home to discover that the driver had come to my house to pick up the misdelivered package. So another call to FedEx. The next day the driver came back to my house, again. The third call, I asked FedEx to have the local office call me. (No call ever came) After weeks, I hadn’t heard anything and called FedEx again. They told me my claim had been denied and I’d get a letter in the mail. I asked why the decline and was told the shipper had to submit claims, not me.  So for a comedy of errors and a problem that was 100% FedEx’s fault they weren’t at all willing to help me resolve the issue. Total time spent: 6 weeks.

So I called Moen, relayed my irritation and apologized if it was coming through. The rep apologized profusely even though I made sure she know it wasn’t Moen’s fault at all. She told me she’d send me a replacement package overnight, no charge. Total time spent 6 minutes.

Terrific stories, terrific companies.

Brand = User Experience

In this great article, I found a terrific synopsis of today’s "brand" environment:

And from the same article there was no way I could pass this quote up:

Or better yet, this one:

Let’s repeat that for effect…. the question for brands is no longer "what should we say", but "what should we let customers do".

The World is Not Flat

My buddy Lee over at CommonCraft.com is on a year long trip around the world with his lovely wife. And being the community minded fool he is, he’s undertaking an interesting project along the way… The World is Not Flat.

Here’s some background on the project:

When we started telling people about our plans for the trip, we found that people love to share their travel experiences. We would write what we could on a napkin or envelope and eventually lose those valuable tidbits.

So, we figured there must be a way to collect and organize similar travel experiences using a web site. We started looking for ways to have a travel blog that also enabled our friends to share their experiences with us on the Web. This was the original inspiration for TwinF.

Be sure to check out the announcement – Lee has some more info about this very cool project.

coComment

The second time I posted a blog comment, I knew that the person who created a solution to easily keep track of all of the comments I wanted to actually follow would be a millionaire. I tried to work on some ideas as I created and expanded BlogFusion. But other than subscriptions  via email or RSS, I could never really figure out a good plan. Well, looks like some sharp cats found a solution with their new application: coComment.

When you become a member of coComment, you’ll install a simple bookmarklet on your browser. Whenever you make comments on another blog, you’ll do so using this bookmarklet. Using coComment allow for 3 things:

Capture

First, when you sign into your account on the coComment home page, you’ll be taken to "your conversations". In other words, you don’t have to have your own blog to benefit from the coComment service! In "your conversations", you’ll find a centralized list of all the comments you’ve made on other people’s blogs, with a link back to the original blog where you made the comment. Additionally, you’ll find all comments posted by other coComment members which are related to your original comment – creating a flowing conversation.

How do we do this? Essentially, when you and other coComment users use the coComment bookmarklet to make a comment, the coComment service makes a duplicate of that comment. This copy of your comments, and all related comments from other users, are then automatically displayed in "your comments" on the coComment service.

Share

Second, if you have your own blog, you’ll be able to display a window on your blog called your "blogbox", which is basically a miniature copy of "your conversations" right on your blog. This is not only convenient for you – as you won’t have to go to coComment’s web page to view your conversations, but also brings the value of your comments on other’s blogs back to you and your blog. And lastly, it allows readers of your blog to see your comments, conversations and topics of interest from within your blog.

Alert

As an added bonus, the comment stream generated by your conversations will be available to you not only in your blog box, but also as an RSS feed, so you can track your conversations on your favorite RSS reader, along with all your other regularly updated information. And keep your eyes on coComment for future alert services already in the works – such as SMS, IM and email alerts!

There’s some more info at one of the developer’s blog. Looks to be great stuff. I just got signed up for the beta, so I’ll post again when I know more about the app. This is very exciting stuff.